The internet killed the sideshow.

You remember the sideshow, populated by acts who got record deals but just could not create a hit. The list is endless. Little Feat. Bonnie Raitt before she lucked out nearly twenty years later.

The sideshow was kept alive by media, word of mouth and scarcity. Hit fans were grazers, the same people addicted to playlists today. Whereas true fans were students of the game who had a comprehensive knowledge of the entire scene and drilled down into that which they found worthwhile. Ergo the battles of taste. All true fans hated the grazers, and the true fans argued and had contempt for each other and their tastes. There was a coherent scene. That which was mainstream, and that which was not.

Sideshow acts rarely played arenas, never mind stadiums, but they had loyal fan bases that kept them in action and alive, to this very day in fact.

Whereas hit acts’ careers waxed and waned on the basis of their chart performance. They could sell tickets when they had a hit, when not, they couldn’t.

MTV was an interim step. It blew up careers and rained down more money than ever before in the history of the music business. Everybody wanted in on the action. So for the better part of two decades we had a monoculture. And then the internet blew the paradigm apart. We were sick of having so little choice. We hated being dictated to by so few gatekeepers.

And now we’ve got an incomprehensible scene made up of hitmakers with less reach and influence than ever before, and a zillion acts who are mostly unknown fighting for attention.

Meanwhile, the press, like the government, is so far behind it’s got no clue. Posting the hit charts when SoundScan is eclipsed by the Spotify Top 50 and everybody with a clue knows it. Meanwhile, record companies are businesses, and they want to focus on hits. Used to be you’d invest, wait for the outside, the sideshow, to find its moment. But with no one at a label who has skin in the game, with quarterly reports and bonuses key, no one wants to wait. It’s not about investment, but cherry-picking that which has traction and trying to blow it up. It’s kind of like sports betting, but in this case the label has rights, at least for a little while.

So I’ve established the game has changed and the media is out of the loop and the purveyors don’t care, but what about the public?

You ignore the public at your peril. Those who acknowledge the needs of the people triumph in the end. Which is why the music business is moribund.

The people want more music. Hyped and distributed in a comprehensible way.

The barrier to entry in music is incredibly low. So if you wade into the sphere you’re immediately overwhelmed by product. Everybody is overwhelmed, even the professionals. There’s just too much music to comprehend.

So we have to prop up the sideshow.

The business has to pivot to paying attention to a limited number of acts who don’t create traditional hits, in this case being hip-hop or pop, and maybe country, who deserve attention. Playlists should be shorter. Most acts should be ignored. The scene must be made understandable to listeners. So they can dig in and digest new acts, marinate in their music.

Right now we’ve got a free-for-all, a tsunami of hype, and it’s turning off the populace at large. The business is in denial. But it’s heading for the dumper.

What kind of bizarre world do we live in where an excoriated film about ancient rockers is the only thing with universal appeal? People care about Freddie Mercury and “Bohemian Rhapsody,” most are unaware and don’t care about what passes for hits today.

It’s not that we need a farm team, but an alternative.

The music business has a long history of promoting alternatives, alternative rock to begin with. Seattle overthrew the hair bands. Isn’t it interesting that we haven’t had a new sound THIS CENTURY!

Meanwhile, there are endless press releases about this act or that breaking a “Billboard” record… It’s as if we’re promoting the results of the AYSO.

Now change always comes. Usually from outside, from those not inured to the old ways.

As for the techies, they aren’t about music, and this is definitely a musical issue.

We don’t need to promote every act, just a few.

But hype is broken too. Our entire system is broken other than distribution. We know how to get the music to everybody, we just don’t know how to promote what deserves it and de-emphasize that which does not and get the general public excited about new acts and new tunes.

Hell, music doesn’t even represent what it used to. It used to set your mind free, give you insight into the times. Now it’s mostly machine-based wanking with platitudes and boasting laid on top. Try selling that to Netflix, the service wouldn’t be interested.

But if you buck the system the climb is just too steep. You need help. You need attention. Most don’t deserve it, but some do.

This isn’t about fixing the Grammys.

It’s not even about fixing the charts.

No one used to care who won a Grammy, the charts were irrelevant. Quick, what was the peak of “Purple Haze”? “Stairway To Heaven” wasn’t even a single.

And Kurt Cobain wouldn’t do anything that wasn’t punk.

Whereas today acts are only true to the almighty dollar.

This can be fixed, and it won’t be tough. Just adjust the angle by a degree or so and the whole picture changes.

I’m not talking about emphasizing a minor league. I’m talking about pointing the spotlight on acts that deserve it. Who might not fit into the round holes. Isn’t that what artists are, square pegs?

Let’s find them, anoint them and expose them.

It’s everybody’s responsibility. We’ve got to create a paradigm that works for modern times. Lord knows, we haven’t got one now.

This is a terrible book.

But I finished it anyway.

You see I was there. When the Beatles broke, when FM radio ruled, when Led Zeppelin sold out stadiums and musicians were independent thinkers as rich as anybody in America.

But those days are in the rearview mirror. There’s a music business, that’s for sure. But it’s mature, it’s about entertainment and dollars whereas back then, it was EVERYTHING!

Sure, there was a renaissance with MTV. But ultimately it was about visuals, not music, and one thing’s for sure, before that it was about the music. In an era where you didn’t even have to put the band’s name on the cover, the audience knew who it was.

And Napster was utterly fascinating, but it was about technology, music was just the fuel, no different from the gas in your car. We ooh and aah over your vehicle, we don’t have long discussions on petrol.

Now there was music before the Beatles, but the Liverpool foursome blew up and then revolutionized the business, by refusing to conform to strictures, ultimately releasing a song with only one chord. And their manager, Brian Epstein, was notoriously bad at math, his deals were execrable, but it didn’t matter if the band was underpaid for wigs and lunch boxes, you see there was just that much money in the music, to the point where they no longer had to go on the road and play it. And when that got boring, they did. McCartney and Ringo ply the boards constantly today, because first and foremost they’re musicians, their stardom is secondary.

And no one embodies this ethos more than Robert Plant. Who has no problem appearing bedraggled and trying new things. He’ll give you a bit of what you want, but he’s on his own path. He’s eviscerated his charisma, and become a party of one in the process. A beacon. Dylan is removed and mysterious, Plant is up front and available.

But he was once the biggest rock star in the world.

Funny how history turns on you. It was Page’s band, but Plant was the front man. And it’s Plant who survives. Jimmy’s loaded, but he doesn’t know what to do all day. Kinda like Peter Grant… After you manage Led Zeppelin, what’s next? NOTHING!

It’s the thrill of the chase, the building of something, the energy is palpable when Zeppelin comes together and starts selling records and tickets. Meanwhile, Grant grows into the role. Makes it up as he goes. And despite uproar from the mainstream, unlike Zuckerberg and Facebook Grant and his charges don’t change a thing, they don’t blink, they don’t give up, because they’re selling music, it’s all based on substance, which lasts to this day.

And the holier-than-thou reviewers excoriated the band.

And promoters tried to rip them off.

Meanwhile, the lemmings, the public, just could not get enough.

This is unlike traditional business, where an enterprise is built to last. In music, the tunes are built for now, and if they survive it’s a surprise. Ironically, the more time-stamped, the more immediate the tunes are, the longer they last. Art is run on instinct. And once you second-guess yourself, you’re history.

So this is how it was then, and how it will never be again.

Those over forty want a return to yesteryear.

Those under forty never knew how it once was. They’ve got no idea what a rock star really is. They think it’s about money and TMZ. But back then, these men making the music, and they were mostly men, couldn’t do much else. And their handlers spoke for them and everything happened on the fly.

Until it crashed.

It always crashes.

So why did I finish this book?

Because I was looking for nuggets, stuff I didn’t know. Like Grant’s daughter marrying Denny Laine… Really? And Peter having contempt for the musician, who was essentially broke.

And the most significant point in the whole book is Grant’s wife leaving him for their farm manager, and him never getting over it. No matter how rich and powerful you might be, that does not ensure love. Women want men who will listen to them, and be there for them. Turns out Grant was a great raconteur who loved women who loved him, but he was too caught up in his own world to be available, and it bit him in the ass.

But that’s what being a rock fan is all about. Getting hooked by the music and then vacuuming up knowledge, which won’t get you into college, which won’t get you a gig as a professional, but will bond you to like-minded people, millions.

Music gets no respect. Otherwise, how could a publisher allow this paste-up job to hit the shelves? With no proofreading. Mo AUSTIN? How can I trust anything in this tome?

But I trust Led Zeppelin.

I hear “Dazed and Confused” in my brain all day long.

“Your Time Is Gonna Come” is my go-to ski song, it emanates from my lips when I’m swooping down the slope elated.

And the dynamics in “Ten Years Gone”… That was Page’s secret sauce, the dynamics.

What do you do when your skills leave you? When you just cannot get it up anymore?

Some drink themselves to death. O.D.

Others sit around telling stories.

And despite so much info, most go unheard. Because they’re private, because they’re offensive, because they would cause lawsuits, because you had to be there to get them.

It’s no different from the rest of us. Telling the stories of the bands we saw and…

Ultimately, that’s all we’re left with, our stories. Possessions mean nothing.

But the music…

You can talk about a film you’ve seen.

But you can sing a song.

And the song remains the same, never forget that.

Supreme | Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj | Netflix

I heard about it from Mike Caren. And after our conversation I was driving down Fairfax and saw the line in the middle of the afternoon, on a weekday!

Is there anybody who doesn’t have a Netflix account, or access to one? Seems that there’s little backlash against the streaming giant, unlike Spotify and the music streaming services. Netflix has ushered in a golden age of television, it’s HBO on steroids, the only problem is there’s too much content, constantly, do I have to watch that Alan Arkin/Michael Douglas show, do I have to watch the third season of “Narcos,” do I have to finish “House of Cards”?

And waiting for Felice to shower last night I got hooked on the latest episode of Hasan Minhaj’s “Patriot Act” on Netflix. It’s one of the few shows on the service without a pure five star status. That’s right, since they changed their rating system everything is spectacular, and that means the ratings are meaningless, we have to go to Rotten Tomatoes. Bad move Reed Hastings.

But good move giving Hasan Minhaj a show.

I think the reason Hasan gets less than five full stars is because he’s South Asian, i.e. Indian, never underestimate the latent racism in America. I know Trump has amplified it, I can tell by my inbox, I didn’t used to get blowback like this, beware of right-wingers working the refs, and tune in Hasan’s show, because it’s the only one with the perspective of a young ‘un, everybody else in late night TV is old.

And Hasan knows that his is not the only political show hosted by a comedian. He’s got a sense of self, which is so rare in today’s entertainment world, where everybody’s a winner, where everybody’s a world-beater.

And then there are the references.

This is what made SNL and then killed it.

In the beginning, you only understood the show if you were of the target demo, oldsters didn’t get the jokes. Now SNL plays so broad in this Tower of Babel era that it loses its edge, whereas Hasan is talking about Gandhi and Africans and you’re clueless and want to find out, with Google at your fingertips. Hasan’s not like Dennis Miller, showing off, he’s just being himself.

And in this episode about Supreme he’s a sneakerhead.

Hasan admits that writers are the backbone of his show. As they are in every show, even Stern’s. But on this topic of sneakers, Hasan is an expert.

Whereupon Hasan breaks down the Supreme phenomenon whilst delineating the history of sneaker availability.

And when Hasan talks about the power of rare apparel to boost the image of an outsider, it resonates. We all want to belong, we all want to feel powerful, and the best signifier is donning something no one else has.

That’s what Supreme is all about. Limited inventory of sometimes everyday items, like a crowbar.

It didn’t happen overnight, the proprietor’s been at it for nearly thirty years.

And now he’s sold half to the Carlyle Group. Will the fund lose its half a billion dollar investment? Who is smarter, the financiers, who rap, you’ve got to see the video, the proprietor or the customers?

The hip-hop generation.

If this episode doesn’t make you feel old, you aren’t.

The thing about baby boomers is they believe they know everything, and are hip. Watching this “Patriot Act” episode on Supreme you will realize you’re completely out of the loop, that you were standing still as time passed you by.

And there’s a middle-aged expert on sneakerdom. Point being not his age, but that this is a gig. Kind of like playing video games. Boomers can’t understand that either.

And everybody wants what is unavailable.

It used to be music.

Now it’s concert tickets.

That’s why people overpay on the secondary market, they want to belong, they want the badge of honor, not everybody can go, not everybody can sit close.

As for those bitching… Somehow they feel entitled to front row tickets at face value but not the latest Supreme item at retail.

Proving, once again, that those crying loudest often come from the fringe and should be ignored.

And those reporting on trends should be too. Like the security expert in today’s NYT who refuses to go to an iPhone X because she can’t fathom giving up the fingerprint sensor. For the record, the facial recognition works so much better. I always marvel when so-called experts are uninformed.

But Hasan is informed about sneakers and Supreme. And if you watch his show, you will be too.

P.S. It turns out you don’t even have to subscribe to Netflix to watch this episode, I put the YouTube link at the top, WATCH!

He came from nothing.

And when you’ve got nothing, you’ve got nothing to lose. You go with the flow, you take risks, you glom on to advantages, your goal is to get ahead, not protect what you’ve got.

This is what the other entertainment industries cannot understand about music. How it’s run by street hustlers. Few with college educations. What they saw was opportunity, and they followed it.

Peter Grant is legendary as Led Zeppelin’s manager.

But what this book makes clear is that there was a pre-story, he didn’t come from nowhere, and his wrestling exploits were a sideshow having little to do with his advancement. He was a bouncer, a driver, a collector. He sidled up to artists and looked for opportunities. Some colleagues say he wasn’t even smart. But he was there, in the thick of the action, learning. From legendary crooks like…

Don Arden.

You might be owed money, but that does not mean you can collect! In other words, a contract is no guarantee. This is something the inexperienced just cannot fathom. How someone can owe you money and just refuse to pay, willy-nilly. And although in the era of public Live Nation that’s much more rare on the promotion front, go beneath the surface and you’ll find it’s still true, it’s why producers never open their own wallet, try getting paid after you’ve done the work, it’s nearly impossible.

But these are life lessons you learn on the road, in the game. Is someone really gonna shoot you for a thousand dollars? They don’t teach you this stuff in school. About leverage, about people. And there are very few venues where you can get rich knowing solely what you’ve picked up on the way, needing no formal education, and one of them is music.

It’s still this way. Hip-hop, the dominant force, is built on eruptions from different parts of the country by people heretofore unknown. And despite the lore, usually this is not their first rodeo, very few make it right out of the box, even though they say they did.

And you cannot make it alone. Jimmy Page needed Peter Grant to succeed. Grant glommed on to Jimmy because he saw the guitarist dominating the Yardbirds and Page picked Grant because unlike the usual manager Peter went on the road and knew where money was made and lost. Don’t order room service, it’s too expensive. Beware of the promoter providing his own limos. This is stuff you can only learn by being there.

So today’s music business is a conundrum. You’ve got the nobodies from nowhere mixing it up with the seemingly know-betters trying to make the business legitimate. But how legitimate can a business be that cheats on its primary payment method, i.e. royalties? So Andy Lack comes in to make the trains run on time and he’s squeezed out. Meanwhile, septuagenarian Doug Morris, having run all three major label groups, is starting over once again, and you should not count him out.

But Doug’s a record guy. The business is changing, records have never been less important than in our era. Now the music is about the experience, it’s those who provide the shows who win. Why? BECAUSE THAT’S WHERE THE MONEY IS! That’s what Peter Grant and all the legends were looking for, to get paid. That’s how Peter bonded with Page, by getting the guitarist paid. Where there’s money, there are hustlers. And there’s still money in music. Not as much as in finance and tech, but where else can someone without a CV become a zillionaire?

Only in music.

P.S. And that’s why it’s exciting, that’s why we’re interested, we’re always looking to be surprised by music. Ironically, codification is rampant, people are following trends more than ever, but it’s the outside we’re looking for. Records are cheap. You can make a statement for next to nothing. And there’s an audience looking to find it, hear it and spread the word about it. Then again, Peter Grant got started before the Beatles, in the days of variety, before all the money came pouring in. Maybe today’s depressed revenues are a harbinger of good things to come. But they won’t come from frat boys on a lark prior to professionalism, but outsiders with no direction home, who are pushing the envelope.

“Bring It On Home: Peter Grant, Led Zeppelin, and Beyond–The Story of Rock’s Greatest Manager”